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Patented. May 27,1919.

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R. H. BERKLEY. APPARATUS FOR TREATINR UNK MESH MADE FROM SOLDER CORE WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5.19l8.

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R. H. BERKLEY. APPARATUS Foa .TREAHNG LINK MESH MADE FROM SOLDER CORE wlHE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5,1918.

Patented. May 27, 1919.

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RICHARD HATDEY BERKLEY, OF PLAINVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN OR TO WHITING & DAVIS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

v APPARATUS FOR TREATING LINK MADE FROM SOLDER-CORE WIRE.

Application 'med June 5, 1918.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, RICHARD I-I. BERKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainville, in the county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have linvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treating Link Mesh Made from lSolder- Core I/Vire; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to 'be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as `will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makev and use the same.

This invention is directed to the provision i of an improved method and apparatus for the treatment of link-meshmade from )vire having a solder-core, which mesh is so exensively used in the manufacture'ofhand ags.

The type of mesh which is most eX- tensively used is ring mesh consisting of a multiplicity of rings each interlinked with four other rings. TheseA rings are made from wire having a core of solderby cutting off suitable lengths of the wire, bending each length of wire to form a staple, passing the legs of the staple through rings of the mesh and then forming the staple into a ring by bringing its ends together. When the manufacture of a piece of mesh in this manner has been completed, the piece is subjected to a heat treatment which softens-'the solder-core of the rings sufficient to cause solder at the ends of the piece of wire to pass out into the minute spaces between thefends bf the pieces and fill those spaces, thus praetically welding the ends of the rings together and making them continuous unbroken rings. It is of the utmost importance that this heat treatment of the pieces of mesh be conducted with great care and precision. If the heat treatment be discontinued too soon, or if it be conducted at too low a temperature, the solder will not run out into the joints in the rings in sufficient quantity, the jointswin the rings will show in the completed mesh and the mesh will be of insufficient strength.` On the other hand, if the mesh be subjected to the heat treatment longer than `is necessary,.or if it lbe conducted at too' high atemperature, the solder will run.out too freely, forming small lumps or projections atthe joints of the rings, and in some cases forming a rigid connection-between twoor more rings with the 'result that the A-inesh yloses some fofits Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Serial No. 238,358."

flexibility and the desirable uniform appearance.

The operation of subjecting such soldercore mesh to heat treatment has heretofore been largely or entirely a manual opera tion requiring training and skill on the part of the operator and characterized by a lack of the unformity and perfection so desirable insuch mesh which is used primarily in jewelry work and in which the'highest degree of -perfection is constantly sought.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a method and apparatus whereby the heat treatment of such mesh may be performed with the highest degre of accuracy and uniformity, resulting in the production of mesh consisting of links whose joints are completely filled with solder from the core of the wire and wholly free both from lumps or projections of solder at the joints and links which are rigidly connected by minute drops of solder. In accordance with the invention, the pieces of mesh are vsubjected to heat treatment in ka furnace which is maintained always at a predetermined temperature which has been found in practice to be the correct tempera.- ture, and they are kept in the furnace for a predetermined length of time so that all of them are treated alike and lack of uniformity necessarily incident to a manual control of the operation is eliminated. To this end, a furnace is employedand in conjunction therewith an automatically operated mechanism for placing the pieces vof meshwithin the furnace, holding them there for a predetermined length of time, and then withdrawing them. The furnace is preferably provided with a door to reduce the escape of heat therefrom and this door is also operated by the automatic mechanism to open it to permit of insertion of a piece of mesh and close it immediately after the mesh has been inserted in the furnace, and to again open and close it before and after the withdrawal of each piece of mesh from the furnace. In order .to insure that the furnace will always be maintained at the desired temperature, the mechanism for inserting pieces of mesh into the furnace and withdrawing them therefrom is placed under the control of thermometric apparatus which permits of operation of the mechanism for inserting and withdrawing the pieces of ymesh only when the temperature within the furnace is at a predetermined point or within certainnarrow limits of variation. Preferably the pieces' ofL mesh are placed upon a foramina'ted support so that the heat ofv the furnace .may be ap-` plied to' the piece of mesh at practically all points thereon, and the automatic mechanism is arranged to" raise the support with the piece of mesh thereon, andinsert ity inthe furnace, and after the completion o-f the heat treatment,- toy withdraw the' support with the piece of mesh thereon from the furnace. Y Y

The features ofthe invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of an apparatus* which may be conveniently employed in the-.practice of the invention, which apparatus is illustrated in the. drawingsI annexed hereto. In these drawings, Figure 1 is a central section of the furnace apparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan view of theY same, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the furnace.

Referring to the drawings', 4 indicates a muffle furnace of suitable construction. It is shown as made of a refractory materiali, having a muiflel 5 mounted within it .and provided with gas burners 6 for supplying the requisite degreeof heat. The entrance tothe muffie is provided with a door 7 which is movable vertically in waysS arranged at opposite sides of the entrance. The insertion of the pieces of mesh. within the'furnace and their removal therefrom is effected by a power driven shaft 9. On this shaft is a worm wheel 10 which meshes with a worm 11 on a power shaft 12 driven by an electric motor 13". TheY operation of the motor' 13 is controlled by the temperaturewithin the' furnace.` For this purpose a telethermometer 14 is provided projecting within the muffle of the furnace and arranged to control the position of a movable indi'- through cator 15 whose' position controls the circuit of the motor 13.y In the drawings the indi'ca'tor 15 and a contact 16 with. which it coacts, are' shown as connected in one sidey of the'circuilt of the motor13, but it will be understood that these contacts may control a relay in the motor circuit insteadv of'being directly connected in the circuit, so that only the current of a battery y will pass the contacts 15 and 16 instead of the current supplied to the motor 13. The indicator 15v may move on either side of the contact 16 and-does sov move as the temperature within the furnace rises above and falls below a predetermined temperature which has been found in practice to give the best results in the heat treatment of the mesh.

For the support of the mesh during the heat treatmentl preferfto employ a support of woven wire fabric such as is Ashown at 17.

lThis preferablyconsists of a rectangular edges thereof bent downwardly so that the body of the support will stand abovethe surface uponwhich the' support is placed to give better access of the" heat to the mesh on the foraminated support and, provide a space into which a tool may b'e'inserted to lift the support and place a piece ofmesh thereon.

, The automatic means for inserting the piece of fabric in the furnace and withdrawing it therefrom includes power actuated devices fori opening and closing the door 7' of the furnace,A for raising' and lowering' the support 17, and for moving the support `17 into and out of the furnace,- these several 'movements being arranged to take place in a prescribed order. Onthe shaft 9l isa cam 18 and aV roller onthe lower endofi a. rod .19- runs on the periphery of. this cam, the 4roller'being heldin engagement with the cam by a spring. coiled on the rod. The upper endl of rodl 19 engages an arm 20 piv- ,otally mounted at 21 upon the frame of the machine and having its. free e-nd. bent laterally as4 shown at. 22 and extend-ingv under a projection 23 on the door Tof; the furnace. rl`he'shaft `9A also carries-a cam. 24@ which engages a roller carried by the lower'end of a rod-25, the roller on this .rod being also held in engagement withk its cam by` a spring 26V coiled. onthe rod. rLhe upper end rofthe rod 25 engagesan arm 27 which is pivotallfy lmounted lat one end upon.` a shaft- 28 carried-by' slides 29- adaptedv to slide back. and forth' in grooves formed in ways 30- mounted Von the frame of the'lnach-ine. The slides 29 are alsol connected by a rodv 31 whichZ passes through a slot in alever32 whose lower end ispivoted. at 33- uponthe frame of the machine.. The lever 32 has a secondslot therein which receives a studf 34- upon a slide rod 35 adapted to` reciprocate in a bearing formed on the frame of themachine. yThe end of the slide rod 35=l carries a rol-ler which lies within the cam groove of a cam 36 'mounted on the shaft .9. i I

Ilhepsupport 17 rests normally upon the hearth or front plate 37 of the furnace whose surface is the plane of the betteln of the m-uftl'ey 5. The forward end of the arm 27 is flattened as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and approximates in size, the sizeof the horizontal portion ofthe support 17. y

1n operation the support 17 is placed in position upon the hearth 37 and a piecey of solder-core mesh 38 is laid upon the surface of the support. kThe circuit of the motor 13 is then closed to operate thek motor to drive shaft 9 in the direction indicated. by the arrow on Fig. 1. By reason'of the provision of the thermome-tric controlling devices for the motor 13, that. motor will operate only in the event that. the temperature within the furnace is within the desired relatively narrow limits.y `Departure from this desiredl temperature-either below? or above it will preclude operation of'lthe-'apparatus by the motor 13.',Withthe'inotor in operation driving shaft 9 inthe direction of the arrow, I oneofV the proj ections Joncam "V18 operatesv through therod 19' Vand arm i2() to lraiseJ the'deor 7-of the furnacenthew-a'ys 8 to the open position.l yAtsu'lo'st'antially; the same time-one of theprojections-'on the cam 24 operates 'throughithef-rod 25 'to-'raisethe free end ofthe arm 27,fcafir' y'ingitr intoie'ngagementvwi'th the underside-ofy `th'e'silipport 17 and lifting' thef 'support and the f'piece of mesh 38 thereon; Immediately thereafter the cam .36 operates through the? rodf35, lever 32, slides 29 andshaftf'28 to move armV 27 and 'thesupport 17 and'.- the piece of' mesh. carried thereby forward finto y'the furnace.'V As this forward movement fof arm 27 is completed'ithe end of the' projection on Cam 24 passes lunder thelroller` on rod 25 resulting'l in lowering rod 25 'and the free end of arm 27 untilthesupp'ort 1,7 is'deposited upon the bOttomy of Vthermullie'i5 rof the furnace and the end of .arm` 27 -fisfout' of en'- gagement with the su' port 17 lTheni the cam 36 operates on sli e "rod 35 to move the -arm 27 backward carrying itsl freel end'back out of the furnace. As the free end of the arm -is withdrawnk lfromthe furnace, the, end of the projectionon cam'18 comesunderi'its coacting rolleriresulting inthe loweringfof thedoor 7 to close the furnace: Theshaft continues to rotate, at runiform, velocity reaches the endofits inward movementthe second yprojection' `on cam 24 -raisesf'the 'free end of the arm causing it to lift the support 17 and the piece-,of mesh carried byr it from the floor of the furnace, and the-cam 36 then retracts the arm 27 outof the; furnace.v At the conclusion-of this outwardl movement ltheends of the'projections on .cams 2li-and 18 come und'ertheir respective rollers, resultino in the lowering of the free end 0f arm: 27 and closing of the'door7. The piece of heat treated mesh 38 may then be removed from the support 17 and another pieceto be treated may be substituted for it.

The heat treatment of the pieces of mesh may be continued in this manner, the sole duty of the operator being to remove the treated pieces from the support 17 and to place the ones to be treated thereon. The

one'vring-to another. ..llalmg ,c f i i 1.A .Apparatus for treating pieces fof linktime durin whichthe pieces remain in the furnace4 is free from theffcontrol 'of the oper- -'ator-and is therefore the same in all infstances.4 Furthermore, the regulation vof the 'temperatureofthe heat treatment is taken 'from theeontrol'l-Of'the operatorv as the mechanism is so ,arranged that it tmay ibe @PP-rated OililyV When-the ltemperature lwithin 'the-furnace is-with'in such narrowflimits of variation as have been foulnd :inf` practiceito yinsu're the f bestresults with-J respect to the period ofatime in which the lmechanism is -arranged to 'maintain' the'pieces 'of mesh in the furnace.k Therefore-the factors fof the heat ,treatment which'lso fllargely 'determine thei. character ofI the .treatmentfand which heretofore have .been liable to variation by .being subject .to the control and judgment Yofthe operator, .are made definite andk uniform,f. and as La', result, uniformity and a high degree. of' perfectionV in the heatitreating operatioir arefobtained, it being a characteristicaof Vthe lmethod and apparatus Vof this linventionlnthat lthe solder-core within the wire; of `the links :is softened sufficient; to

Yinsure :complete closure ofthe joints of all of the rings, but not enoughl vto-result in too Afree a flow of; thesolder :causing small. lumps to be raised at the joints ofthe rings and the Vdroppi-ngvof; particles of lmolten solder from meshmade of solder-core wire to closethe .joints -of the links vwith solder from the core of the wire c'omprisingvthe combinationof a furnace and power-actuated.;devices for `depositing piecesof meshsuccessively upon theinterior-fof, ,the furnace,y releasing each piece-to yallow it toi remain within the furnace apredetermined lengthof time, and,

-after eachV piece has remained within the furnace for the predetermined length of time, liftinglitfrom its position within the furnace .and carrying it to the .exterior of ,the furnace.

2. vApparatus fortreating piecesof linkmesh made of solder-core wire to 'close' the ,joints-of the links with solder from Ithe core .ofv the" wire,-, com prising lthe combination of a furnace, power-actuated devices for depositing piecesof mesh within the furnace su-ccessivelyand removing them therefrom after they have'remaincd withinV the furnace equal and predetermined periods' of ftime, and means for permitting operation of the power actuated"devicesonly: when iithe; tem- L perature within the furnace is within prescribed limits.

3. Apparatus for treating pieces of linkmesh made of solder-core wire to close the joints of the links with solder from the core of the wire, comprising the combination of a furnace, a support for a piece of link mesh, and power actuated devices for lifting the support with a piece ,of mesh thereon, depositing the support andV piece of .Inesh thereon within-the furnace, and Withdrawng the supportand the piece of mesh thereon from the furnace "after they have; 1*@- ymained thereinv for aopredeterinined length of time. f 4,. Apparatus for treating pieces of linkmeshl made of .solder-core Wire .to, close the inesh made ofsolder-core wire to close the joints of the links with solder from the core of the wire, comprising the combination of a furnace, a support for' a piece of link-mesh, power actuated devices for moving the support and the piece of mesh thereon within the furnace,- and V'after theyl have remained therein for a predetermined length of time, withdrawing them from the furnace,and means for precluding operation of the' power actuated devices except when the temperature within the furnace is `within predetermined limits.

6. Apparatus forv treating" pieces of linkmesh made of solder-core wire to close the 'joints of ,the links withk the solder from the c ore of the wire, comprising the rcombination of afurnace, a support for a piece of link-mesh, and power actuated devices for liftingl the support with the `piece of mesh thereon, moving it within the furnace, 'depositing it upon the floor of the furnace, and after the piece of mesh has remained within the furnace a predeterminedtime, lifting the support and withdrawing it from the furnace.

7. Apparatus for treating pieces of'linkmesh made of solder-core wire toy close the joints of the links with solder from the `core of the wire, comprising the combination of a furnace, a Y support for a piece of linkmesh, power actuated devices for lifting the support with the piece of mesh thereon, moving it within the furnace, depositing it Copies of this patent may be obtained for upon the flo-or of the furnace, and after the Piece of mesh has `re.ma-ined withiny the furnace a predetermined.4 time, liftingthe support and withdrawing it. from the furnace, and means for preventing operation of the Power actuated devices except When the temperature within the furnace is within predetermined limits. Y Y Y .8.- Apparatus for treating pieces. of linkmesh made of solder-core wire tov close the joints ofthe links with Solder-from the core ofv thewre, comprising the combination of 'a furnace-a movable door for ,the furnace, a

Support 'for a piece of link-mesh, power actuated? devices forlifting thesupport and the piece of mesh thereon and opening the door of thefurnace, inserting the. support Within the furnace and closing the door of the furnace, and after the supportwith the vpiece of rmesh 'thereon has remained within the furnacea predetermined tme,-opening the door of Vthe furnace, vwithdrawing the support, and then closing thedoor,V j

v :9. Apparatus' for treating pieces'of linkmesh madefof solder-ccrewire to. close-the joints of the linkswith solder from the core of the wire, comprising the combination of a furnace, asupport for a piece of mesh havlng supporting members at its sides, anl arm,

land power actuated-'devices forraising the arm under Athe support :to lift the support, and a piece of 'mesh thereony for lowering the arm-to deposit the-support and the piece of mesh thereon upon the bottom lof the furnace and for moving vthe arm in the direction of its length to carry the support into and out ofthe furnace. Y l

. .10. Apparatus for treatingpieces of Ylinkvmesh made of solder-core wire to close the joints of the links-with solder from the core of the wire, comprising the combinationV of a furnace, a movable door for the furnace, a support for a pieceof mesh having supporting -membersat its sides, 'an 'arm,power actuated devices for raising the arm under the five cents each, by addressing!'the` Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. -V 

